Story By: Elena Kalioglo, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News

Video Credit: CEN/TCH

A pretty cafe owner who rescued a baby stork has seen her small business boom after the leggy bird became her popular new ‘assistant’.

The stork, named Fedor, was found by Natalya who runs a mobile cafe outside a shopping centre in the northern Ukrainian capital Kiev.

The small business owner spotted the stork wandering around the built-up area on its own for some time, and decided to give the bird shelter from the sun along with some food and water.

Natalya also called a vet who confirmed that the bird was healthy, but too young to migrate south and added that it had probably been left behind when its family set off to winter feeding grounds.

The stork now stays with Natalya and ‘assists’ her at the mobile cafe where the long-legged bird has become somewhat of a local celebrity.

She said: “He is very curious about what is going on in the cafe and feels safe inside, although I hope he will be able to rejoin the other storks in spring.

“In the meantime, Fedor is welcome to stay with me and get used to his new surroundings.”

Since recruiting the stork, Natalya’s cafe has reportedly seen an upturn in customers who are somewhat taken with her new ‘assistant’.

One new client told Natalya that the stork has not developed properly for its age because it fell out of the nest and survived on people’s kindness.

A local family then looked after it for a while before reportedly abandoning the bird for Natalya to later find wandering around the city centre.

The ViralTab page is created by and dedicated to professional, independent freelance journalists. It is a place for us to showcase our work. When our news is sold to our media partners, we will include the link here.